A submissives journey - Gor Dictionary and Gorean terms

A glossary of some Gorean terms found in John Norman's writings, in alphabetical order (many are used by real-world Gorean lifestylers to describe their practices, and a few have been taken up in general BDSM use):

Camisk

A common Gorean garment for female slaves; in its basic form, it is a simple rectangle of cloth, about 18 inches wide and up to six feet long, with a hole in the center. The slave-girl's head goes through the hole, and the cloth is worn as a sideless poncho, generally belted at the waist by a tied cord. Worn without undergarments, due to the prohibition against a "nether closure" (see the entry for Tunic below). A version of this was the main slave attire seen in the first release of a Japanese fan's efforts to illustrate Gor book #19 (an early, influential, use of Poser software for Gorean fan-art).

Dina

The "slave flower", an alternative symbol to the kef for a female slave.

Harta

Faster

Iron belt

Chastity belt for female.

Kaissa

Generically, the word for game. Most often, this refers to Gorean Chess

Kajira

Female slave (Latinesque plural is kajirae).

Kajirus

Male slave (Latinesque plural is kajiri).

Kan-lara

slave brand

Kef

Letter of the fictional Gorean alphabet (slightly resembling a Latin-alphabet "k"), which is commonly used as a symbol for a slave (since it writes the first sound of the words Kajira/Kajirus) — it is found in a stylized cursive form (the "staff and fronds") for a female slave, and in a simple block script form to designate a male slave.

Ko-lar (Collar)

The collar is an important symbol of Gorean slavery; the brand (usually the Kef or Dina) symbolizes general slave status, while the collar proclaims ownership by a particular Master or Mistress. Many different types of collars can be worn in different circumstances or cultures, but the most common in the northern temperate zone city-states is a flat metal locking collar.

Kurt

Gorean-language term for a five-strap flogger or "slave whip", described as typically having an eighteen-inch long handle (suitable for either one- or two-handed use) from which depend five relatively soft and flexible flat lashes, each an inch-and-a-half wide and two-and-a-half to three feet long. Intended to effectively discipline female slaves without real risk of injury or scarring.

La

Multiple meanings depending on the context. May mean "Who are you?" "You are?" "I am" This is the feminine version.

La Kajira

A sentence meaning "I am a slave girl" in the Gorean language (the main lingua franca of the northern temperate zone city-states). In some cases, a free woman who utters this sentence becomes legally enslaved. This is one of the few Gorean-language sentences given in the books. The Gorean language appears to have sex-specific first person pronominal forms (the corresponding masculine being Lo).

Lesha

Leash

Nadu

Gorean name for classic sexual submission kneeling position, with torso over heels and knees widely separated. (This position was described in the Story of O, though the name "Nadu" is Norman's, used by him only in Gor book #13.) By default, the hands rest on the thighs. Also called "the position of the pleasure slave, that of a woman who is of interest to men".

Pagar

Pleasure

Penitent

see "supplicant"

Rarius

Warrior

Red silk

Non-virgin (especially of a female slave)

Sa

daughter

Sa-Fora

Chain Daughter, a slave

Sa-Tassna

Life Mother, meat, also refers to food in general

Sa-Tama

Life Daughter, the staple yellow grain

Silk slave

Male slave kept by a woman owner for bedroom duties (most male slaves on Gor are used for hard labor in work gangs).

Sirik

A set of linked chains and attached locking circlets intended to thoroughly restrain a woman's movements, but without needing to fasten her to anything, and while still allowing her to stand, to walk with mincing steps, and to kneel in the tower or nadu positions. The main chain (about five feet long) hangs down from a locking collar; a bracelet chain (connecting two locking wrist manacles that are usually about 6-12 inches apart) is attached to the main chain roughly two feet below the collar, or at the "lower belly", while an anklet chain (connecting two locking fetters that are usually about a foot to a foot-and-a-half apart) is attached to the end of the main chain. The chain lengths can ideally be adjusted to taste; Norman suggests that best results are obtained when the main vertical chain (collar chain) is long enough to rest on the floor for several inches when the woman is standing straight (alternatively, the collar chain can be slightly shorter, and end in a small ring, through which the anklet chain is allowed free play). The chains should be light enough not to be too burdensome or uncomfortable when worn for several hours.

Slave wine

Semi-permanent female contraceptive, usually taken by drinking an unsweetened bitter liquid.

Stabilization serum

Immortality potion. (Slave wine and stabilization serums combine to contribute to certain apparently intentionally unrealistic aspects of the Gor books.)

Supplicant

A supplicant, one who supplicates, is a term to applied to humble petitioners. At the University of Oxford, it refers to students who have qualified but not yet been admitted into their degree (these students are referred to as graduands at Cambridge and most universities other than Oxford).

Within BDSM, the word supplicant is often used to a refer to a submissive applicant, hoping to enter the service of a particular dominant or household.

In the Gor novels of John Norman, a "supplicant" (or "penitent") is a conventional role within a stylized ritual ceremony during which the leaders and prominent inhabitants of a conquered city beg for mercy from their conquerors. A supplicant traditionally wears nothing but a plain white robe (accompanied by a veil in the case of women), and is naked and barefoot beneath the robe, symbolizing a transitional status between freedom and possible slavery (at the whim of the conquerors).

Tower slave

Female slave whose duties do not prominently include sexual services (derogatory variant: "kettle slave"). Opposite is "pleasure slave" or "silk girl".

Tower slave position

Like nadu, but with knees together (indicating a less sexual submission). Also called "the position of the house slave". When the hands are not occupied with some task, they generally rest loosely in front, with wrists crossed. Gorean free women commonly kneel in a similar position, but in less revealing garments, and never with wrists crossed.

Tunic

Standard garment worn by men on Gor whose occupations demand physical effort and freedom of movement (such as warriors) — and also (in a rather different form) by female slaves. Tunics worn by slave-girls are commonly short (with the hemline only coming down to the upper thighs) and sleeveless. Those slave-tunics worn by pleasure-slaves (as opposed to tower slaves or kettle slaves) are often slit in front down to the navel, and modified so that they can be removed with a simple pull on a "disrobing loop" attached to one of the shoulder-straps. In the northern temperate zone city-states, a slave-girl's garments are generally required to allow an open-air path to her privates, to symbolize and facilitate her constant sexual availability and accessibility to her master, so that no undergarments are worn.

Turian Collar

A Turian collar is a rigid metal collar which is circular in cross-section. The term was invented by John Norman for use in his Gor series of science fiction books:

"The Turian collar lies loosely on the girl, a round ring; it fits so loosely that, when grasped in a mans fist, the girl can turn within it; the common Gorean collar, on the other hand, is flat, snugly fitting steel band. Both collars lock in the back, behind the girl's neck. The Turian collar is more difficult to engrave, but it, like the flat collar, will bear some legend assuring that the girl, if found, will be promptly returned to her Master." - Nomads of Gor

Several BDSM scene manufacturers now produce Turian collars, either with internal screw locking mechanisms, or with tags which allow a padlock to be used.

Walking chain

Light locking ankle fetters connected by a light chain a foot or more long, when worn without other restraints, are likely mainly intended to keep a woman's stride length below some maximum considered aesthetic, rather than to confine a slave as such. Free women on Gor sometimes use an analogous "silken thong" as a beauty aid for the same reason, or occasionally even wear chains (as may have also sometimes been done in Biblical times — see Isaiah 3:16).

White silk

Virgin (especially of a female slave).

Gor Books - The Works of John Norman

Gor - The Low down

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